Your Views for February 2

If it is as safe as the GMO people tell us, then why don’t they do all their experimenting on the mainland where the cost of business is far cheaper than Hawaii? They could save millions.

The reason is they know full well GMO experimenting is extremely dangerous. They know they could create a Frankenstein and the pollen from it could be blown for hundreds of miles on the mainland, infecting billions of dollars worth of existing crops, and they would clearly be liable for damages.

So by coming to Hawaii and spending millions of extra dollars buying and leasing land and paying all their scientists and staff travel and housing expenses to relocate here, along with all their equipment, they avoid the possibility of infected pollen spreading on the mainland.

Instead, they risk the health of the people and agricultural crops of Hawaii which, in their financial way of thinking, is far less of a liability. So next time you hear the GMO people say that GMO experimenting is safe, ask them: If it is so safe, then why don’t they do their experimenting on the mainland and save money?

Bob Babson

Kihei, Maui

We are under attack

On Monday, Jan. 12, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald published a small article about the discovery of the “coconut rhinoceros beetle” on Oahu. This is yet another off-island pest that has come to plague Hawaii state. The Oryctes rhinoceros beetle is from tropical Asia and is found in most palm-growing areas in and around many Pacific region islands. The beetle attacks the growing point of the palm, thus killing the tree, especially newly planted palms.

As bad as this may sound, included in the story was the curious paragraph which read: “It is NOT known how the beetle arrived.”

Just a couple weeks ago, the Tribune-Herald reported the tiny fire ant was found on Maui and Oahu. Again, it was written that agricultural authorities did not know how the fire ant arrived on either Maui or Oahu. The tiny fire ant was first reported in Puna in 1999. And, you guessed it, agriculture officials did NOT know how the tiny fire came to the Big Island.

Last year, the coffee borer beetle was found in our beloved Kona. According to agriculture officials, this pest is a weak flyer. Yet, it manages to fly about 10,000 miles from the jungles of Ethiopia all the way to the Big Island. Now, wait for it … ag officials again said they are clueless as to how this destructive beetle arrived on the Big Island.

There is the coqui frog, bunchy top banana virus and any number of alien pests and diseases making agriculture on the Big Island very difficult. And, in almost every case, government ag officials at every level wash their hands of the situation.

I know it is after the fact; the bugs are here and the damage has been done. But why are these apparently incompetent quarantine officers even being paid? It seems they have done little to keep invasive species out of Hawaii. Farmers in Hawaii are left holding the bag. None of us likes using chemicals to control pests, but more alien pests just keep arriving in Hawaii.

The next big bug on the horizon is “citrus greening.” It has caused billions of dollars of damage to the Florida citrus industry and as been discovered in isolated spots in California. There is no known cure for the bacteria that causes citrus greening, and once a tree is infected, it dies.

At the Big Island Nurseryman’s Association sale last year, a spokesperson at the APHIS information table said, when informed that the L.A. Times reported citrus greening had been found in California, he replied it will just be a matter of time to when it comes to Hawaii.

We are lost!

Arthur Warren

Keaau

Did you vote?

We say many times, vote out the imbeciles from office and vote for people who will be there for us and not for themselves. But we never do that. Democrats and Republicans vote for their tickets and not for individuals. So what should we take issue of?

This is what, we, the people have kept in office. People who have told us what insurance we can have, and make us pay more for the insurance they tell us we have to have. What ever happened to freedom of choice? People have taken away retirement and disability benefits; taken away our doctors, limiting what hospitals and treatments we can use.

They legalize things we voted against. They restrict our expression of religion. They lie to us. They ignore our constitution and do things without our consent. One problem we have is when we do not want something, our elected persons immediately vote for it.

And do you know why they can to this? WE ALLOW IT. We allow the president to make his own laws with Congress. We allow Congress to just sit back and do nothing. So if Congress is going to keep their heads in the sand, let’s do away with them.

We are a land of laws. Then laws should apply to all and not a few like what is being done now. Some people have to buy insurance and others do not. Exemptions are given to a select group.

We are a democratic country. But more and more we are becoming a socialist country on the way to a dictatorship one. We should get rid of the I, My, Mine people and replace them with the We, Us, Our people. Something to think about.

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